Apollo 11, part II

Source: http://www.ingvip.com

1. The lunar lander, controlled by a computer, dropped toward the airless surface of the moon. One hundred forty meters from the surface, the astronauts took control of the lander from the computer.

2. They moved Eagle forward, away from a very rocky area that might have caused a difficult landing. The voices of Aldrin and Armstrong could be heard in short messages.

3. EDWIN ALDRIN: "Forward. Forward. Good. Forty feet. Down two and a half. Kicking up some dust. Thirty feet. Two and a half down. Faint shadow. Four forward. Four forward. Drifting to the right a little. OK. Down a half.

MISSION CONTROL: "Thirty seconds …" 

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "Forward drift?"

EDWIN ALDRIN: "Contact light. OK. Engine stop. "

Armstrong reported: 

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." 

4. NASA's plan had called for the astronauts to test instruments, eat and then rest for four hours before leaving the Eagle. But Armstrong and Aldrin asked to cancel the four-hour sleep period. They wanted to go out onto the moon as soon as they could get ready. NASA controllers agreed. 

5. It took the astronauts more than three hours to complete the preparations for leaving the lander. It was difficult -- in Eagle's small space -- to get into space suits that would protect them on the moon's surface.

6. Finally, Armstrong and Aldrin were ready. They opened the door. Armstrong went out first and moved slowly down the ladder. At two hours fifty-six Greenwich Mean Time on July twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine, Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon.

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

7. The world could see the history-making event on television. But the man who was closest to what was happening, Michael Collins, could only listen. He was orbiting the moon in the command module Columbia. It did not have a television receiver.

8. Armstrong moved carefully away from the Eagle. He left the cold, black shadow of the lander and stepped into the blinding white light of the sun. On Earth, all was quiet. No sound came from televisions or radios. No one felt able to talk about what was happening. 

9. Armstrong began to describe what he saw: "The surface appears to be very, very fine grain, like a powder. I can kick it loosely with my toes. I can see footprints of my boots in the small, fine particles. Notrouble to walk around."

10. Aldrin appeared on the ladder. Down he came, very slowly. Soon, both men were busy placing experiments to be left behind on the moon. They collected more than thirty kilograms of rock and soil totake back to Earth. They moved easily and quickly, because the moon's gravity is six times less than Earth's.

11. Hours passed. Too soon, it was time to return to the Eagle. Armstrong and Aldrin re-entered the lander. They rested for a while. Then they began to prepare to launch the lander for the return flight to the orbiting command module.

12. Listeners on Earth heard the countdown from Tranquility Base: "Three, two, one ... first stage engine on ascent. Proceed. Beautiful. Twenty-six ... thirty-six feet per second up. Very smooth, very quiet ride." Eagle was flying. Man had been on the moon for twenty-one and one-half hours.

13. Eagle moved into the orbit of the command module. It connected with Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin rejoined Collins in the command ship. They separated from Eagle and said good-bye to it. The lander had done its job well.

14. Eight days after it started its voyage to the moon, Apollo Eleven splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Left behind on the moon were the footprints of Armstrong and Aldrin, an American flag and scientific equipment. Also left forever on the moon is a sign with these words:

15. "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon -- July, nineteen sixty-nine A. D. We came in peace for all mankind. "

16. Our program was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Shirley Griffith.

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. We continue the story of the Apollo space flight program. You can find earlier reports about the American space program at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Vocabulary

1. agreed = concordou
2. airless surface = superfície sem ar
3. ascent = ascensão
4. away from = para longe de
5. before leaving = antes de deixar
6. began = começaram
7. blinding = ofuscante
8. closest = mais perto
9. describe = descrever
10. Drifting = derivando, movimentando
11. dropped = despencou, caiu
12. easily = facilmente
13. Engine = motor
14. Faint = fraco(a)
15. felt = sentia-se
16. flag = bandeira
17. footprints = pegadas
18. for a while = por algum tempo
19. forward = para a frente
20. get ready = estar pronto
21. grain = grão
22. has landed = aterrissou
23. heard = ouvidas
24. job = trabalho
25. Kicking up some dust = levantando um pouco de pó
26. ladder = escada
27. lander = que aterrissa
28. leap = salto
29. left behind = deixados para trás
30. Listeners = ouvintes

31. loosely = livremente
32. mankind = humanidade
33. Mean Time = tempo médio
34. might have caused = poderia ter causado
35. moved carefully away = afastou-se cuidadosamente
36. placing = colocando
37. powder = pó
38. quickly = rapidamente
39. receiver = receptor
40. rejoined = reencontraram
41. reported = relatou
42. rest = descansar
43. ride = trajeto, passeio
44. saw = viu
45. set foot = colocou o pé
46. shadow = sombra
47. ship = nave
48. slowly = lentamente
49. smooth = suave
50. soil = solo
51. Soon = logo, em breve
52. space suits = trajes espaciais
53. splashed down = caiu na água
54. take back = levar de volta
55. toes = dedos do pé
56. took control = assumiram o controle
57. toward = em direção a
58. trouble = problema, dificuldade
59. went out = saiu

Family Album, part XXII

Source: Family Album

Apollo 11, Part I

Source: www.ingvip.com classes on line with Teacher Fulvio Carlos

1. I'm Steve Ember.  And I'm Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we continue our history of the American space program with theflight of Apollo Eleven.

2. A rocket launch countdown. A common sound in the nineteen sixties. But this was not just another launch. It was the beginning of a historic event. It was the countdown for Apollo Eleven -- the space flight that would carry men to the first landing on the moon.

3. The ground shook at Cape Kennedy, Florida, the morning of July sixteenth, nineteen sixty-nine. The huge Saturn Five rocket moved slowly up into the sky. It roseperfectly. Someone on the launch crew spoke the words: "Good luck. And Godspeed."

4. In the spacecraft at the top of the speeding rocket were three American astronauts whose names soon would be known around the world: Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins.

5. Neil Armstrong was the commander of the spacecraft. He was a test pilot. He had flown earlier on one of the two-man Gemini space flights. Armstrong was a calm person, a man who talked very little.

6. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was pilot of the moon lander vehicle. The astronauts gave it the name Eagle. Aldrin had flown on the last of the Gemini flights. He also was a quiet man, except when he talked about space.

7.Michael Collins was the pilot of the command module vehicle, Columbia. He also had made a Gemini flight. He would wait in orbit around the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin landed and explored thesurface. Collins was very popular and always ready with a smile.

8.Two-and-one-half minutes after the Apollo Eleven launch, the first-stage rocket separated from the spacecraft. Twelve minutes later, the spacecraft reached orbit. Its speed was twenty-nine thousand kilometers an hour. Its orbit was one hundred sixty-five kilometers above the Earth.

9. This was the time for the crew to test all the spacecraft systems. Everything worked perfectly. So, the NASA flight director told them they were "go" for the moon. They fired the third-stage rocket. It increasedthe speed of the spacecraft to forty thousand kilometers an hour. This was fast enough to escape the pull of the Earth's gravity.

10. Apollo Eleven was on its way to the moon. In seventy-seven hours, if all went well, Apollo Eleven would be there. Halfway to the moon, the astronauts broadcast a color television program to Earth.

11. The broadcast showed how the astronauts lived on the spacecraft. It showed their instruments, food storage, and details of how they moved and worked without gravity to give them weight. 

12. The television broadcast also showed the Earth behind Apollo Eleven. And it showed the moon growing larger in the blackness ahead. As hours passed, the pull of the moon's gravity grew stronger. Near the moon, the astronauts fired rockets to slow the spacecraft enough to put it into moon orbit.

13. Apollo Eleven circled the moon while the crew prepared for the landing. Finally, spacecraft commander Armstrong and NASA flight controllers agreed it was time to separate the lander module Eagle from the command module Columbia.

14. Armstrong and Aldrin moved through the small opening between the two spacecraft. Then they moved Eagle away from Columbia. Armstrong reported: "The Eagle has wings!" The lunar module was ready. Men were about to land on the moon.

15. On Earth, all activity seemed to stop. President Richard Nixon gave federal government workers the day off to watch the moon landing on television. Around the world, five hundred million people watched the television report. Countless millions more listened on their radios.

16. Armstrong and Aldrin fired the lander rocket engine. The firing slowed the spacecraft and sent it down toward the landing place. It was in an area known as the Sea of Tranquility.

Vocabulary

1. about to = prestes a
2. above = acima
3. agreed = concordaram
4. ahead = à frente
5. away = para longe
6. beginning = começo
7. behind = atrás
8. blackness = escuridão
9. broadcast = transmitiram
10. Cape = cabo
11. carry = transporter
12. circled = circulou
13. countdown = contagem regressive
14. Countless = incontáveis
15. crew = tripulação
16. Earth = Planeta Terra
17. engine = motor
18. enough = o suficiente
19. except = exceto
20. fired = dispararam
21. Flight = vôo
22. gave = deram
23. Godspeed = “sorte”, “Deus proteja”
24. ground = chão
25. growing larger = ficando maior
26. had flown = tinha voado
27. Halfway = na metade do caminho
28. huge = imenso(a)
29. increased = aumentou
30. known = conhecido
31. lander = modulo de aterrissagem
32. on its way = a caminho
33. opening = abertura
34. pull = arrasto
35. reached = alcançou
36. ready = pronto
37. rocket launch = lançamento de foguete
38. rose = subiu
39. seemed = pareceu
40. shook = tremeu
41. showed = mostrou, desacelerou
42. slowly = lentamente
43. soon = em breve
44. spacecraft = espaçonave
45. speeding = em aceleração
46. stage = estágio
47. storage = armazenamento
48. the day off = o dia de folga
49. through = através
50. vehicle = veículo
51. weight = peso
52. while = enquanto
53. whose = cujos

Glastonbury Festival

Source: Speak Up

Language level: Basic

Standard: American accent

The Glastonbury Festival

     This month we’re off to the Glastonbury Festival for three days of music, inspiration and, hopefully, sunshine. At the event an estimated 150.000 people will enjoy a weekend of entertainment, while Greenpeace Oxfam and other charities receive over £ 1 million. The line-up is kept secret till close to the date, but rumors have already confirmed top music acts such as Arctic Monkey’s, Bjork, The Who and the Chemical Brothers. Let’s hope the weather is good, so we can avoid the horror of mud and dancing in Wellington boots.

     The Festival doesn’t actually take place in the town of Glastonbury, but nearby at Worthy Farm, Pilton. The Festival began in 1970 when 1.000 people paid farmer Michael Eavis (pictured above)  one pound for a two-day concert, plus free milk from his farm. Why did he organise the festival? He answered: “I’m just an ordinary person – I have debts and I have to pay them off.”

     Today the event attracts thousands of people and 71-year-old Eavis is still enthusiastic. He says they have made some compromises in order to continue, but he has refused millions from potential sponsors. He says: “It’s about bringing people together, it’s about artistic achievement and the whole youth culture of Britain. You can’t put a label on all that talent.”

     From 1981 to 1992 the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) helped to organise the Festival, but Eavis turned to Greenpeace in 1992. The Cold War was over and the protection of the environment became more important goal, the ticket price this year is £ 145, but this is the largest music and arts Festival in the world.

     What are people paying for? Entrance to the beautiful site in the Vale of Avalon, a city of tents with 17 stages.  The main Pyramid and Dance stages are more commercially oriented. Then there are relaxed areas like the “Jazzworld” and “Acoustic,” and the family-oriented areas like the Kidz Field, the Theatre and Circus Fields.

The Glastonbury Zodiac No sound available

The Festival is also an important annual meeting for New Age travellers and Druids. There are about 10.000 druids in Britain and many are travellers who live like gypsies. They meet at Stonehenge for the summer solstice, before going to the Glastonbury Festival. Glastonbury is in Somerset, in the Southwest of England. The travellers are attracted by its pagan history. There is the Glastonbury Zodiac, an extraordinary ancient earthen work. It is a circle 16 kilometres across and 48 kilometres in circumference formed by hills, roads and rivers.

Glastonbury Legends

One legend tells that St. Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus, came to Glastonbury and founded the first Christian church in England. He rested his staff on Wearyall Hill: it rooted and became the Glastonbury thorn. This unusual variety of thorn flowers around Christmas time, which is unique, and many think it is a miracle.

Another story identifies Glastonbury as King Arthur’s Isle of Avalon, but this was probably an invention of the monks from local Abbey. They “found” the grave of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere near the Abbey, but there is no proof today because the remains were later moved and then lost. 

Family Album Part XXI

Source: Family Album

American History: 'Roaring Twenties' a Time of Economic and Social Change

Source: www.voanews.com

Photo: loc.gov

Congressman T.S. McMillan of Charleston, South Carolina with two women who are doing the Charleston dance near the Capitol building in Washington D.C.

BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

The nineteen twenties were a time of economic progress for most Americans. During the administrations of President Warren Harding and President Calvin Coolidge, many companies grew larger, creating new jobs. Wages for most Americans increased. Many people began to have enough money to buy new kinds of products.

The strong economy also created the right environment for many important changes in the day-to-day social life of Americans. The nineteen twenties are remembered now as an exciting time that historians call the "Roaring Twenties."

This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe tell more about that period.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: The nineteen twenties brought a feeling of freedom and independence to millions of Americans, especially young Americans. Young soldiers returned from the world war with new ideas. They had seen a different world in Europe. They had faced death and learned to enjoy the pleasures that each day offered.

Many of these young soldiers were not willing to quietly accept the old traditions of their families and villages when they returned home. Instead, they wanted to try new ways of living.

HARRY MONROE: Many young Americans, both men and women, began to challenge some of the traditions of their parents and grandparents. For example, some young women began to experiment with new kinds of clothes. They no longer wore dresses that hid the shape of their bodies. Instead, they wore thinner dresses that uncovered part of their legs.

Many young women began to smoke cigarettes, too. Cigarette production in the United States more than doubled in the ten years between nineteen eighteen and nineteen twenty-eight.

Many women also began to drink alcohol with men in public for the first time. And they listened together to a popular new kind of music: jazz.

Young people danced the Fox Trot, the Charleston, and other new dances. They held one another tightly on the dance floor, instead of dancing far apart.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: It was a revolution in social values, at least among some Americans. People openly discussed subjects that their parents and grandparents had kept private.

There were popular books and shows about unmarried mothers and about homosexuality. The growing film industry made films about all-night parties between unmarried men and women. And people discussed the new ideas about sex formed by Sigmund Freud and other new thinkers.

An important force behind these changes was the growing independence of American women. In nineteen twenty, the nation passed the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

Of equal importance, many women took jobs during the war and continued working after the troops returned home. Also, new machines freed many of them from spending long hours of work in the home washing clothes, preparing food, and doing other jobs.

HARRY MONROE: Education was another important force behind the social changes of the nineteen-twenties. More and more Americans were getting a good education. The number of students attending high school doubled between nineteen twenty and nineteen thirty. Many of the schools now offered new kinds of classes to prepare students for useful jobs.

Attendance at colleges and universities also increased greatly. And colleges offered more classes in such useful subjects as teacher training, engineering, and business administration.

Two inventions also helped cause the social changes. They were the automobile and the radio. The automobile gave millions of Americans the freedom to travel easily to new places. And the radio brought new ideas and experiences into their own homes.

Probably the most important force behind social change was the continuing economic growth of the nineteen twenties. Many people had extra money to spend on things other than food, housing, and other basic needs. They could experiment with new products and different ways of living.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: Of course, not all Americans were wearing strange new "flapper" clothes or dancing until early in the morning. Millions of Americans in small towns or rural areas continued to live simple, quiet lives. Life was still hard for many people including blacks, foreigners, and other minority groups.

The many newspaper stories about independent women reporters and doctors also did not represent the real life of the average American woman. Women could vote. But three of every four women still worked at home. Most of the women working outside their homes were from minority groups or foreign countries.

The films and radio stories about exciting parties and social events were just a dream for millions of Americans. But the dreams were strong. And many Americans -- rich and poor -- followed with great interest each new game, dance, and custom.

HARRY MONROE: The wide interest in this kind of popular culture was unusually strong during the nineteen twenties. People became extremely interested in exciting court trials, disasters, film actors, and other subjects.

For example, millions of Americans followed the sad story of Floyd Collins, a young man who became trapped while exploring underground. Newsmen reported to the nation as rescue teams searched to find him. Even the "New York Times" newspaper printed a large story on its front page when rescuers finally discovered the man's dead body.

Another event that caught public attention was a murder trial in the eastern state of New Jersey in nineteen twenty-six.

Newsmen wrote five million words about this case of a minister found dead with a woman member of his church. Again, the case itself was of little importance from a world news point of view. But it was exciting. And Americans were tired of reading about serious political issues after the bloody world war.

(MUSIC)

KAY GALLANT: The nineteen twenties also were a golden period for sports.

People across the country bought newspapers to read of the latest golf victory by champion Bobby Jones. "Big Bill" Tilden became the most famous player in tennis. And millions of Americans listened to the boxing match in nineteen twenty-six between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. In fact, five Americans reportedly became so excited while listening to the fight that they died of heart attacks.

However, the greatest single sports hero of the period was the baseball player, Babe Ruth.

Ruth was a large man who could hit a baseball farther than any other human being. He became as famous for his wild enjoyment of life as for his excellent playing on the baseball field. Babe Ruth loved to drink, to be with women, and to play with children.

loc.gov

Babe Ruth

HARRY MONROE: The most famous popular event of the nineteen twenties was neither a court trial nor a sports game. It was the brave action of pilot Charles Lindbergh when he flew an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping. He was the first man in history to do this.

Lindbergh flew his plane alone from New York to France in May, nineteen twenty-seven. His flight set off wild celebrations across the United States.

Newspapers carried story after story about Lindbergh's success. President Coolidge and a large crowd greeted the young pilot when he returned to Washington. And New York congratulated Lindbergh with one of the largest parades in its history.

Americans liked Lindbergh because he was brave, quiet, and handsome. He seemed to represent everything that was best about their country.

KAY GALLANT: The nineteen twenties was also a time of much excellent work in the more serious arts. We will take a look in our next program at American art, writing, and building during the exciting "roaring twenties".

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by David Jarmul. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe.

You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

___

This is program #169